The Schooner Pride, a magnificent 84-foot tall ship, set sail from Charleston Harbor Aug. 25 with 20 Jayhawks aboard for a glorious two-hour afternoon cruise. The crew graciously allowed novices to hoist the sails, and as the excursion concluded, Russ Crane, c’63, who grew up sailing on Kansas lakes and now volunteers in a sailing program to help U.S. military veterans, helped steer the ship back to the harbor. The cruise began and ended with the Rock Chalk Chant, followed by a brief update on KU news from Jennifer Sanner and Dan Storey of the Alumni Association. Dan captured video of the event, which is sure to become a tradition for the Charleston Chapter, led by David Perrett, c’93.

The Association’s tour of the Carolinas began with the Charlotte Alumni Reception Aug. 23 at the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. Thirty Jayhawks, spanning the classes of 1949 through 2012, heard the latest from the Hill, including the women’s track and field national championship; the construction of Rock Chalk Park for track and field, soccer and softball; and the project to restore the canopy of trees that graced Jayhawk Boulevard in decades past. Alumni were especially pleased to hear about the University’s growing efforts in the recruitment of legacy students nationwide and throughout Kansas, including the Jayhawk Generations Scholarship for academically qualifying out-of-state students from KU families. Jennifer Shoemaker, c’04, shared information about upcoming events in Charlotte, and Steve Ellsworth, b’49, son of the Alumni Association’s longtime executive director Fred Ellsworth, c’22, traveled with his wife, Bobbie, from their home in Rock Hill, S.C., for the event.

Forty Central North Carolina Jayhawks gathered at the serene wooded home of Randy Marcuson, c’74, and his wife, Linda, Aug. 24 for the chapter’s annual summer picnic, featuring barbecue and all the fixings; beverages, including home-brewed beer provided by David Danner, j’85; and Linda’s homemade brownies. Victoria Shropshire, c’96, invited her fellow Jayhawks to football watch parties in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, and other members planned to re-establish a watch site in Raleigh. Cooled by Carolina breezes and warmed by KU camaraderie, the crowd lingered well into the afternoon.